Royals' Ryan O'Hearn: Competing for 1B job this spring

by
RotoWire Staff

Feb 14, 2018
• 1 min read
UpdateFeb 14, 2018, 9:44pm

O'Hearn is in the mix to fill the Royals' vacancy at first base, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old struggled a bit in his first taste of Triple-A last season, batting just .252 to go with 18 homers and 53 RBI. This ultimately led to a demotion, although there's no denying his excellent raw power. Manager Ned Yost brought up the prospect's name when discussing potential options to play first if Eric Hosmer doesn't return, and it's not totally out of the realm of possibility given O'Hearn's ability to get take walks (9.7 percent walk rate at Triple-A last season) and extra-base power (.198 ISO at Triple-A). That said, he seems to be behind fellow prospect Hunter Dozier in the pecking order heading into spring training, so there's a good chance O'Hearn could head back to the minors for more seasoning. Things should become clearer once Cactus League action begins.